Philadelphia 76ers center Andrew Bynum will have surgery and be out for the rest of the season. / Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

by Jason Wolf, USA TODAY Sports

by Jason Wolf, USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA - Andrew Bynum will have arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to remove debris from both knees and will miss the remainder of a season he hasn't played in anyway, the Philadelphia 76ers announced Monday.

"After many months of rehabilitation and consulting with numerous doctors, Andrew and the doctors treating him determined that this is the best course of action at this point," Sixers general manager Tony DiLeo said in a press release. "We will continue to monitor and evaluate his status moving forward."

Bynum's longtime orthopedist, Dr. David Altchek of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, will perform the surgery. The primary focus of the procedure is to clean out loose bodies from the joints in an attempt to alleviate pain and swelling, according to the Sixers.

Bynum was originally diagnosed with a bone bruise in his right knee in September, a month after the Sixers acquired him from the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster four-team trade in August. The Sixers nevertheless expected Bynum to be ready to play in the season opener, but as the season progressed, the team and player repeatedly delayed the date of his expected debut. Bynum was diagnosed with a "mirror issue" in his left knee in November, when a piece of cartilage broke loose and his joint swelled after going bowling.

Bynum is making $16.9 million this season and will become an unrestricted free agent in July. He's been hoping to land a long-term deal and nine-figure pay day.

"Well, no one anticipated that this would happen, that Bynum wouldn't be able to play any - so far he hasn't played any games," Sixers President Rod Thorn said March 13. "No one was anticipating that. We were hopeful that he might be able to play when the season started, then it's been a series of things and he hasn't been able to play. That's been tough. We've got a bunch of good shooters that would have fit, I think, pretty well around him."

The Sixers, hopeful that Bynum's acquisition would fuel a potential championship run after the team advanced to the second round of the playoffs last season, have instead staggered to a 25-40 record, excluding Monday night's result against Portland. They play 12 of their final 16 games on the road, and are well out of the playoff picture.

The Sixers acquired Bynum as part of a four-team trade in August that sent Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Philadelphia dealt All-Star swingman Andre Iguodala, first-round draft picks Nik Vucevic and Moe Harkless and a protected future first-round pick in order to land Bynum and forward Jason Richardson, who started 33 games this season before also requiring season-ending knee surgery.

DiLeo and Sixers co-owner and CEO Adam Aron have said that four doctors reviewed Bynum's medical history and approved the trade. Aron has also said that six doctors have actively treated Bynum throughout the season.

The last time 7-foot, 300-pound Bynum spoke to the media, on March 1, he said that his right knee continued to swell a week after taking part in his first and only practice of the season on Feb. 22 and that he was no longer confident he'd play for the Sixers this season. He'd been visiting doctors and considering surgery ever since.

Bynum said there's no surgical procedure available guaranteed to repair his knees to the level where he could return to the court and that he doesn't want to play in pain.

"I think I'll be able to play in some form or fashion in the future," Bynum said on March 1. "I think they are getting close with things to do for articular cartilage. They just grew cartilage in a Petri dish, so I think science is looking at it, doctors are looking at it and this is a serious problem and they're going to come up with something."